September 07, 2021
Contact: Melissa Villarin
Office: 916-327-5365
Office E-mail: MVillarin@CCCCO.edu
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Abdimalik Buul, EdD, an innovative scholar who has earned praise for his use of social justice and activism as his guiding pedagogy for change, has been selected by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office to serve as visiting executive of educational excellence and equal employment opportunity programs.
Buul’s responsibilities include working to provide EEO professional development activities for the California Community Colleges, review and provide input on community college district EEO plans, co-lead the statewide EEO & Diversity Advisory Committee and serve on the statewide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Working Group.
“The California Community Colleges is excited to have an advocate as talented and committed as Dr. Buul to lead its EEO initiatives, which are critical to fully realizing the goals set forth in the Vision for Success. His expertise will help our system connect EEO to the classroom and successfully redefine educational excellence for the largest system public higher education,” said Acting Chancellor Daisy Gonzales, PhD.
An assistant professor and transfer center director at San Diego City College, Buul was the first Somali hired as a tenure track faculty member at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, where he served as Umoja program coordinator, faculty chair of the Black Alliance and as an academic senator for the School of Counseling and Student Support. His resume also includes serving as a counselor/professor at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon, an adjunct counselor/professor at San Diego Mesa College and a program specialist with the San Diego Workforce Partnership.
Dr. Buul came to the United States at the age of 5 as a Somali refugee and grew up in City Heights and southeastern San Diego, where he became involved and helped lead myriad social justice programs. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology and his master’s degree in education, with an emphasis in community-based counseling and social justice at San Diego State University, where he has taught restorative practices and conflict transformation. He earned his doctor of education in educational psychology from the University of Southern California.
The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation, composed of 73 districts and 116 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. California community colleges provide career education and workforce training; guaranteed transfer to four-year universities; degree and certificate pathways; and basic skills education in English and math. As the state’s engine for social and economic mobility, the California Community Colleges supports the Vision for Success, a strategic plan designed to improve student success outcomes, increase transfer rates and eliminate achievement gaps. For more information, please visit the California Community Colleges website or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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